Of Old and Young
by Geo the Arch
Summary: A short piece set in a Pern where dragons are more inclined to speak with other Weyrfolk.   Weyrbrats go wandering and find an adventure that few could dream of.


Of Old and Young

The chase was on! Twisting in and out of crowds, two little figures tried desperately to escape the chasing figures. Shouts and cries of, "Come back you rascals!" and, "It's time for your bath!" bounced off the two children trying to make good their escape. The narrow corridors were confining though, and the issue was only a matter of time. Knowing this, the two made a turn into the unknown and strayed off their well known path. More twisting and turned as they turned again, and surprising broke out into sunlight. Stopping in shock, the boy who had been following ran into the girl right in front of him and the two went tumbling to the ground, rolling over several times before coming to a halt in a general heap.

Beginning to untangle themselves silently, lest they give their pursuers any indication of where they had ended up, the two were suddenly surprised by a melodic voice. 'And just what might two young rascals like yourselves be up to at this time of night?' Tumbling to the ground again in shock, the Weyrbrats finally separated and gazed up in awe at the speaker. There, no more than ten paces away, in full glory and illuminated by the sun setting in the distance was a gold dragon. Added onto the shock was that this was no ordinary gold either. Even the two Weyrbrats knew who this was, by name if nothing else. She was the talk of the whole Southern Continent, the oldest gold alive. The harpers told stories about the clutches she had mothered, the bravery in Threadfall, and the wisdom of both herself and her rider.

Such was the shock of the moment that two mouths hung ajar for a long moment. Finally, managing a low curtsey the girl managed, "B-beg pardon, m-ma'm. We, uh, didn't see you there." Attempting to recover his wits as well the boy added, "We, um, we're just out for a little walk before bedtime." Exchanging glances the two decided silently that this was an acceptable story. Perhaps they just might get away with this yet.

And then the gold, the very big, very shiny gold moved, slowly and carefully lying down. Frozen in place, the two stood stock still as they were examined by the dragon. Moments passed and they started to wonder if they had accidently addressed the wrong dragon before, 'I see. And that must be why the three or four worried looking figures are heading this way, looking very stern.' The two children turned, and sure enough it was the crèche workers fast in pursuit.

The boy spoke again, "Uh, thank you ma'm for that. We'll uh, just be on our way then. Have a good evening." Grabbing his compatriot by her arm the two began making their way around the gold, intending to use her as camouflage and escape the searchers. Again the voice interrupted. 'I'm not sure that you'll get very far. Instead of making a dangerous journey across the Weyrbowl, why not stay here with me for a while? You two can be my- assistant riders, until my Rider is done talking with the Weyrleader. Is that acceptable?'

Acceptable? The thrill of the escape and the shock of talking to a dragon, and a gold at that, turned into sheer joy! "Yippee!" The cheers alerted the crèche staff, but when they gazed on the two Weyrbrats, now doing their best to embrace an amused looking gold, they gave up the attempt and leaving one worker to observe from a distance, withdrew to oversee the other children. The two, now 'assistant riders' gave up on their attempt to hug the massive gold, and instead still trembling with excitement settled themselves against the gold, wondering collectively how they'd been so lucky as to manage this.

'So, my assistant riders. May I ask your names so we can get to know each other?' A silence fell as the two Weyrbrats looked at each other, daring the other to go first. Finally, the boy spoke up. "I'm Renyast, and I'm ten turns old!" Not to be outdone, the girl chimed in immediately after he had finished. "I'm Rehni, and I'm eleven turns old! We know who you are ma'm. And Lady Lewyl said it's not nice to ask a ladies age, so you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Rumbling laughter filled the ear and craning her neck to look at her new companions, the gold's eyes whirled an amused blue green. 'Very well then. Your Lady Lewyl is a very wise woman. Listen to her and I'm sure you grow up very wise as well.' There was a collective rolling of eyes between the two at this. "Aww, but she's boring. And I wanna grow up to be a rider!" This exclamation from Rehni was seconded almost immediately by Renyast."Yeah, a rider!"

The amused voice came back a second later, 'Ah, two loyal riders to help us fight Thread. A noble cause. I look forward to flying with you someday then, to protect our home.' As they had talked, the sun had vanished from view and nodding at the gold's words Rehni stifled a yawn. "Sure, that'd be great." She yawned again. "Perhaps, I'll just rest my eyes for a bit and then we can do that." Renyast hid a yawn as well, and nodded. Sensing her new friends were worn out, the gold nodded sagely. 'Rest now, my assistant riders. I shall stand watch for you, do not fear.' Thus reassured the two Weyrbrats drifted off into a sleep.

It was some time later that the gold's rider emerged, having completed her talks with the leadership. Taking in the sight, she smiled softly. 'Hello my dearest. Please, do not wake them.' Nodding the rider took in the sight through wearied eyes, a slight smile crossing her face. It had been several Turns since her beloved had stopped Rising, old as she was. Their time would come soon enough, but while they were yet here, it was apparent that her dragon had new charges to look after, as it should be.

And yet, they could not stay here all night, and as she signaled the Creche worker, who had approached when she had emerged, the goldrider knew that something else must be done, to ensure this would not be just some night dream. After a while it came to her, and as the Creche workers trundled the two sleeping children off to bed, she got creative with some surplus knot supplies, crafting a simple twisted loop of gold and white. When they awoke in the morning, the two would find a knot each, and additionally an official looking note, on which was entitled, 'Official Assistant Rider'. Her work done for the night, the goldrider and her lifemate took to their Weyr, happy to again have young ones to look after.

Fin.


End file.
